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Prince Harry finds himself at the center of another charity dispute as Archewell Foundation’s move to cut ties with a Muslim group triggers royal daggers. Last month, the Duke of Sussex became engulfed in an embarrassing squabble involving his UK-based charity, Sentebale, which he set up in 2006 alongside Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in honor of both their moms. The dispute blew up after the two co-founders announced their resignation as patrons of the charity in a joint statement. Other members of the board of trustees also quit the charity, stemming from disagreements with the chairwoman, Sophie Chandauka.
With the spotlights on Sentebale, Chandauka utilized the platform to haul various allegations against Prince Harry, including bullying claims and questionable practices by him and his board. The embarrassing back and forth led the UK charity board to open an inquiry into Sentebale to uncover the truth. While this inquiry is yet to yield results, the exiled UK prince stumbled upon yet another case involving a charity he set up.
Archewell Foundation Cuts Ties With Muslim Coalition
This time, it involves the Archewell Foundation, which he founded with his wife, Meghan Markle. According to reports, Prince Harry’s charity cut off donations to the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition, a Wisconsin-based group the royal has offered financial aid to for years. The brutal action followed an inquiry from NewsNation into an anti-Israel comment made by the leader of the coalition, Palestine-American Janan Najeeb. In the controversial blog post penned last year, Najeeb described Israel as an “apartheid state,” writing,
“Israel’s 75-year occupation of Palestine and the genocide in Gaza are a grave injustice. We demand a permanent ceasefire, an end to arming the apartheid state of Israel and the liberation of Palestine. From the river to the see, Palestine will be free. From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.”
Before that, Najeeb used the “From the River to the Sea” slogan again in a 2023 post, calling for an end to “arming the apartheid state of Israel.” Additionally, Najeeb’s brother reportedly made a mural promoting Nazi propaganda. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s charity, Archewell Foundation, named after their son Archie, reportedly felt appalled when the NewsNation inquiry made them aware of these statements.
Harry and Meghan Slammed Over Charity’s Decision
The charity sent a letter to the coalition and its founder last week, severing all ties. While the action was in line with Archewell Foundation’s zero-tolerance for hate speech, many have slammed Prince Harry and his charity for nursing political sentiments, accusing them of taking sides in the Gaza War. One enraged netizen wrote on Reddit,
“I wonder if the decision to pull funding was based on a determination of their own security at risk. Given the hate and death threats against Meghan, they were worried about the Zionists harming them? Either way, it’s cowardly and disappointing. What an appalling, shameful decision that places them as tacit genocide deniers.”
Another opined that “It’s funny how some will get more upset by a slogan than an actual genocide,” while a third chipped in, “As a long-term H&M supporter, this is truly disappointing. I guess you can’t expect colonisers to be any different.”
Prince Harry Allegedly Picking Sides in Gaza War Sparks Royal Scrutiny
They also dragged Harry’s estranged family into the mix, pointing out that his actions only indicated the upbringing he received from his British royal family, who they described as “the biggest colonizer family of all time.” One wrote,
“He’s a LITERAL BRITISH PRINCE. I truly don’t know why anyone would expect any different from him lololo. Such an opinion is his birthright. You think because he uses therapy-ese that he’s suddenly not part of the biggest colonizer family of all time?”
Another Redditor jeered, “Keeping the family traditions, I see, the old lady would be proud.” “Colonizers gonna colonize,” wrote another, while a fourth critic accused the British of being “instrumental in starting this whole catastrophe.”
Meanwhile, Archewell Foundation has since clarified that their decision to discontinue donations to MMWC was based on “promotion of propaganda,” rather than politics. Notably, Prince Harry has been open about the royal family’s apolitical stance. Speaking to attendees at the Upfront Summit held in Los Angeles back in February, the Prince discussed how his royal upbringing forbade him from having political views, becoming entangled, or picking sides in divisive political affairs.
Yet, the royals seem to have been taking more politically-charged actions in recent years. Months back, King Charles rubbed elbows with US President Donald Trump, extending a special invitation for a second state visit. He’s also shown “unusual” support for Ukraine through his sentimental words and actions, even meeting with the embattled country’s president Zelensky, last month amid the Russian invasion. Like his royal dad, Prince Harry also appears to lean more towards Ukraine in the ongoing war, recently visiting the war-ravaged country as part of his humanitarian efforts. This begs the question, What level of involvement by the royals would be deemed “political?”
